§ 53. Mr. ROSEasked the Prime Minister if he is aware that the officials of the Ministry of Munitions have issued a statement to the public press charging the Select Committee on National Expenditure with misleading and inaccurate statements in their Third Report; and will he say by whose authority and under what regulation public servants are entitled to send statements to the press instead of passing them through the channels of publicity to which the select committee itself is confined?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWAs the Minister of Munitions felt sure that some of the statements in the report were misleading and inaccurate he thought it his duty not to allow them to go uncorrected.
§ Mr. ROSEWill the right hon. Gentleman answer the question which I put on the paper as to whether we are to understand that there is some regulation in Government offices which permits this sort of thing, and does not permit the Chairman of the Committee on National Expenditure to do the same thing; and whether the right hon. Gentleman thinks it is possible to get responsible Members of this House to serve on committees if unofficially they may be charged with lying by the officials whose conduct it is their duty to examine?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWI do not think there is anything which will prevent the Chairman of the Committee from giving a reply if he wishes. As regards the other question, surely it depends upon what are the facts. If the Minister of Munitions is right, he cannot allow the statement to be circulated in every newspaper without correcting it.
§ Mr. ROSEWhen do the Government propose to present the grateful thanks of the nation to the staff in armament buildings for their past services, and in form them that their future services maybe dispensed with?
§ Mr. BONAR LAWI should be more ready to adopt the first suggestion than the second, but is not this anticipating the discussion we are going to have in the House?